"How Do You Not SMELL That Peppa?!"

A great money saving tip to cut the grocery spending is to buy peppers in bulk when they are in season and on sale, then dice and freeze them. Nothing compares to the taste of fresh green peppers, but if you're going to cook them anyway, you can't tell the difference if they've been properly frozen.

We have a HAUL of green bell peppers in the garden. I picked a few the other night, and counted 12 more that would be ready to be harvested by the end of this week. I had hoped my tomatoes would ripen at the same time and I could use them in salsa, but everything seems to be on a schedule of it's own and the tomatoes are turning red only a few at a time. They are delicious, though!

Preserving Sweet Peppers:
Unlike green beans and other veggies, there is no need to blanch your peppers before freezing them!
Just wash and remove the stem, seeds and membranes.
Slice or dice peppers and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Jelly roll pans work nicely, because you don't have to worry about spilling peppers over the edge if you are clumsy like me and your tray tips a little.

Place in freezer for 1-2 hrs until pepper pieces are individually frozen.
Doing this prevents the peppers from sticking to each other in the bag later and creating one giant hunk of pepper.
Transfer to a ziplock freezer bag, label, and place immediately back into the freezer.

Using your frozen peppers:
Now you can reach in and scoop out any desired amount of pre-sliced bell peppers to add to any dish, any time of the year! Peppers stay pretty crisp, and even after being frozen they are still great for fajitas, pepper steak sandwiches, or this quick dinner:

I call anything that can me prepared from pantry/freezer items alone a "pantry meal", meaning it requires no fresh ingredients from the grocery store. I added some shredded cheddar and tomatoes from the yard to mine last night, but we usually eat it without the fresh ingredients.
We sort of came up with this recipe after eating Emily's fettuccine recipe. Aaron is not a noodle lover (I know-sad, right?) so I tried to make a healthier version of her delicious fettuccine using similar ingredients, but mixed with rice instead of noodles. We love it, and so do the kids. Enjoy!

Sausage Bowls:
1lb Lean Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage
2 cups Instant Brown Rice
1 c diced bell pepper
1/2 c diced fresh mushrooms or 1 small can diced mushrooms
1-2 sliced green onions
1 TBS olive oil
oregano
garlic salt
italian seasonings

directions:
Brown sausage in oil
add peppers, mushrooms, green onions
season to taste with above listed goodness.
Cover for 1 minute to cook veggies to preferred texture, I like them with a little crunch, Aaron likes his overcooked, so I usually dish my serving out and let it sit on the stove another minute before he loads his plate.

Serve over cooked rice. If you are not a brown rice fan, use white, or mix one cup of each. The rice absorbs the oil and flavors from the meat and it is SO yummy!
Simple, filling, and delicious, and now you too can say,

"Ooooh, it smells like peppa up in here!"